Combined safety-door and signaling system for railway-trains.



J. S. DOYLE. COMBINED SAFETY DOOR AND SIGNALING SYSI'EM FOR RAILWAY TRAINS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3|, I910. 1,159,932. Patented Aug. 24,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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J. S. DOYLE.

COMBINED SAFETY DOOR AND SIGNALING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY TRAINS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. aI. I9I0.

I ;15@,932o Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

I V nvcul'o: A I W 3 at? CU 11 mm JAMES S. DOYLE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COMBINED SAFETY-DOOR AND SIGNALING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY-TRAINS.

Applieationfiled March 31, 1910.

To all whom it may concern v Be it known that I, JAMES S. DOYLE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have made a certain new and useful Invention in Combined Safety-Door and Signaling Systems for Railway-Trains, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to combined safety door and signaling systems for trains of cars.

The object of the invention is to provide a combined safety door and signaling system which is simple and eflicient, and wherein the signal to the motorman cannot be given in case a passenger has been caught between the edge of a door and the jamb, on any car of the train, until the obstruction to the complete closing of the door has been removed.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location and relative arrangement of parts, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth as shown in the accompanying drawings, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:Figure 1 is a broken view in side elevation showing a door and a combined safety and signaling system, embodying the principles of my invention, applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a broken detail view of a portion of the safety signaling system. Fig. 3 is a view in diagram showing an application of circuit connections for a combined safety door and signaling system applied to two cars of a train.

The same part is designated by the same reference sign wherever it occurs throughout the several views.

In the operation of subway, surface, or elevated railway systems the problems of securing safety to human life in handling passenger traffic, have become serious ones and particularly where the passenger trafiic handled, is congested. Modern practice in subway and elevated car systems has tended toward the employment of trains made up of many cars, and the equipment of the cars with power operated doors. In the use of door equipments of this nature the danger Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

Serial No. 552,492.

is incurred of a passenger being caught between the advancing edge of a door and the proximate amb, thereby causing damage and injury to the passenger. Various safety I appliances for preventing such injury have been proposed, and among others, it has been proposed to employ a yielding shoe on the front edge of the door adapted to yield 1n case the door encounters an obstruction in closing, the yielding movement of the shoe operating to arrest the power actuated devices which move the door. In the use of such apparatus it might happen that only the hand or arm of a passenger may be caught in the door and still the door per-\ mitted to close sufiiciently for its power operating means to remain in operative connection with the door, or without such operative connection being made the signal may be passed on to the motorman to start the train before a passenger so caught in the door may be extricated. The danger of thus prematurely passing on the signal is in creased where the power operating mechanism for the door is controlled by the guard or conductor from a point remote from the door, thereby increasing the liability of injury to the passenger.

It is among the special purposes of my present invention to provide a combined safety door and signaling system whereby the starting signal cannot be passed on to the motorman until all the doors on the train are fully closed, nor so long as the safety shoe on the front edge of any door remains collapsed or telescoped upon or over the edge of the door.

In my application Serial No. 517,966, filed Sept. 16, I have set forth, described, and claimed a construction and arrangement of safetyv mechanism for power operated doors wherein the doors are equipped with yielding shoes on the front edges thereof adapted to yield, relative to the door when an obstruction is encountered, in the closing movement of the door, such yielding movement of the shoe being employed to detach the power actuated devices which operate the door:

In my present invention I propose, in one form of embodiment, to combine with such a safety mechanism for power operated doors, a signaling system having such arrangement that the yielding movements of the shoes, when a door encounters an obstruction in closing, also control the signal connections by which the train starting signals are given to the motorman at the front or operating end of the train.

In the particular embodiment of my'invention which I have selected for the purpose of illustrating my invention, and the best form in which I at present contemplate applying the same, but to which my invention, as defined in the claims is not to be limited or restricted, I employ an electrically operated signaling system wherein the signaling circuit extends throughout the train and is so connected up in serial relation that when any door is open, or when the movable shoe on the front edge of any door is displaced relative to its associated door, this signaling circuit is broken, and no signal can be given to the motorman to start the train. In other words, before a starting signal can be given to the motorman-not only must all the doors be closed but yielding shoes. on all the doors must be in fully extended relation with referenceto thedoors. In the drawings 10, Fig. *1, designates the car door; 11, the yielding shoe at the front edge of the door, and 12, connections operated by theyielding movements of the shoe relative to the door for controlling the power operated devices employed for moving the door. These parts may be of any suitable construction and arrangment for accomplishing the desired objects of a safety mechanism for power operated doors, and in the specific details of the structure andarrangement thereof form no part of my present invention.

A bar 13, is connected to the shoe 11, in such manner that whenever the shoe is moved relative to the door, as, for instance,

when the door, in closing, encounters an obstruction, the bar 13, is correspondingly 1110(l endwise, and since the shoe is carried by and moves with the door in opening and closing movements thereof, the bar 13 is also moved endwise therewith, in addition to the longitudinal movement thereof independently of the door when the shoe moves relative to the door as above explained. Connected to the bar 13. to move longitudinally therewith is a rod 14, arranged to move through a boxor casing 15, which serves as a guide therefor, and which contains the signal circuit connections. This box is mounted on the car body and is stationary with respect thereto. There are in the form of contact strips 16, 17, arranged to bear against the rod 14, and to cooperate with a conducting sleeve 18, carried by the rod, so that when the rod 14, is moved endwise into position for both contact strips .at the rearend of the car.

here inserted and through which the circuit 'is completed to wire 28, and thence to a 16, 17, to contact with the conducting sleeve 18, .a circuit is completed between them, and when said rod is shifted so as to carry the conducting sleeve 18, from between said contact strips, said circuit is broken. A simple arrangement is shown wherein the rod 1.4 is of wood thereby forming an insulation when the contact strips 16, 17 contact therewith. Thecontact strips 16, 17, are included serially in the signaling circuit, and every door on the car, and on every car of the train is similarly equipped, the relation being such that when all the rods 14, are in position for-the sleeves 18, to complete circuit between their associated contact strips 16, 17 the signaling circuit is completed. In other words, if any doorin the train is open, or if any shoe on any door of the train is displaced toward or telescoped upon its associated door, as would be the case of the arm, leg, or other part of the body of a passenger were caught between the shoe and the adjacent door jamb, then the signaling circuit will be broken making it impossible to pass the starting signal to the motorman at the front or operating end ofthe car or train.

In Fig. 3, I have shown in diagram the signal wiring connections for two cars A, B, in a train, said cars being coupled up as a multiple unit system. In this case each end ofeach car is equipped with a signal device 20, which, if desired, may be of any suitable construction, such for instance, as an electric lamp. In operation, however, the signals are all cut out of circuit on all the cars except at the front end of the forward or operating car as A, where the train motorman is stationed, and from which point the train operation is controlled. Current supply. may be taken from any convenient source, as, by way of illustration, from the third rail 21, through the contact shoe 22, each car being equipped therefor.

In practice current is supplied to the signaling circuit only through the contact shoe 22, of the last car on the train, in this case the car B. The signaling circuit from this course is traced as follows :From the contact shoe 22, on car B, through wire 23, safety resistance 24, wire 25,- to socket 26, A plug 27 is switch device 29, at the rear end of the car. Through this switch device circuit.may be completed through the signal device 20, to ground at 30, but under usual conditions this signal is cut out except when this end of the .car is the operating end of the train and is the motormans station. With the signal device 20, cut out at switch 29, the circuit from the switch is completed to wire 31, thence through the contacts 16, 17, associ ated with the door 10, on one side of the same end of the car, and controlled by the movable shoe thereon, as above explained, and thence on in series through the contacts 16, 17 of all the doors of the same car, to a switch 32, on the front end of car B, which, under the conditions named, cuts out the signal device 20, at that end, and from said switch 32, through wires 33, and 34, coupling plugs 35, 36, and connection 37, between the coupled up cars A and B, wires 38, 39, switch device &0-, and on through the door controlling contacts 16, 17, in series, on the car A, to switch device &1, at the front end of said car A, at which point this being the operating end of the car, the circuit is completed through the signal device 20, to ground at 42. Thus it will be seen that each end of each car in the train is equipped, in accordance-with the principles of the multiple unit system, with a signal device 20, a switch device, as 29, 32, 40 and 41, a plug socket 26, and a coupling socket 35, 362 At the proximate ends of adjacent cars, when coupled up the plugs 27, are removed from the sockets 26, and the coupling plugs are inserted in the sockets 35, 36, to complete the signaling circuit between the cars. At the rear end of the rearmost car of the train a plug 27, is inserted in the socket 26. In case another car is added to thetrain it is necessary that this plug 27, be removed and coupling plugs properly inserted in the sockets 36, and 35 on the proximateend of the added car otherwise the signaling circuit will not be completed to the added car.

The operation of the system is exceedingly simple and will be readily understood from the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

When any door on the train is open the starting signal cannot be given. In case the safety shoe on the frontedge of any door is displaced by an obstruction in its path as the door is closed, the starting signal cannot be given, and a car cannot be added to a train or removed therefrom without opening the signal circuit at some point thereby putting the signal system out of commission.

Having now set forth the object and nature of my invention and a construction and arrangement embodying the principles thereof, and having described the same, its

purpose function and mode of operation, what I claim as new and useful, and of my dwn'invention. and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

1. In a combined safety door and signaling system, the combination with a power operated door, a signaling system, a circuit therefor, said means effective only when the door strikes an obstruction in closing for preventing closure of the signaling circuit.

2. The combination with a door having a movable shoe at its front edge, of a signaling device, and means operated by the movement of the shoe relative to the door as it moves toward closed position for retaining said signaling device out of operation.

3. The combination with a door having a safety shoe at its front edge, of a signaling device, a circuit therefor, and means operated by the-movement of the safety shoe relative to the door for preventing the closure of said circuit.

4. In a combined safety door and signaling system for cars, car doors each having a movable shoe at its front edge, a signaling device and means for preventing said signaling device'from operating when any one of said shoes is moved relative to its associated door.

5. In a combined safety door and signal-- ing system for cars, a series of doors, a movable shoe carried at the front edge of each door, a signaling device said device being rendered inoperative by the movement of any shoe relatively to its associated door. -6. In a combined safety door and signallng system for cars, a series of movable doors, a device carried at the front end of each door and movable relative thereto, a signaling device, a circuit therefor, contacts ,arranged in said circuit and associated with each door, and means connected to the movable device associated with each door, and controlling said contacts.

7. The combination with a door, a safety shoe movably mounted upon the door at its front edge, a signal device, a rod connected to said movable shoe, and means operated by the movement of said rod for controlling said signaling device.

8. The combination with a door, of a safety shoe movably mounted upon the door at its front edge, a rod connected to said .105 safety shoe and carrying a contact-making device, a signaling circuit and contact strips arranged in said circuit and codperating with the contact device of said rod.

9. The combination with a door, of a safety shoe movably mounted on the front edge of said door, a rod connected to said safety shoe, a guide box through which said rod operates, contact strips arranged'in said box, a contact sleeve carried by said rod, a signaling device, said contact strips being arranged in the circuit of said signaling device.

10. In a train of cars, a signaling device arranged at the operating end of the train, a series of doors on each car of the train,

a safety shoe associated with each door and in movable relation with reference thereto, and means whereby the signaling device is rendered inoperative when any safety shoe is relatively moved with respect to its associated door.

11. In a train of cars, a signaling device arranged at the operating end of the train, a series of doors for each car of the train, a 0

safety shoe movably mounted with respect my hand in the presence of the subscribing to each-door, a circuit for the signalingde- Witnesse's, on this 30th day of March A. D., 10

vice, and means arranged in series in the sig- 1910.

naling device cirduit and controlled by the 1 relative movement of any safety shoe with v JAMES D L reference to its associated door for prevent- Witnesses: ing the closure of said circuit. I ISABEL LnvmsoN, In testimony whereof I have hereunto set O. C. HUNICKS. 

